Author's Description:
Nickel & Dime is the RPG to play when you are asked, "What's a roleplaying game?"
Roleplayers are sometimes asked about their hobby. Not every day, but it happens often enough that it’s handy to be able to give a five-minute demonstration that will hopefully pique the inquirer's interest for more.
Nickel & Dime is just that: a demo game that’s a tiny example (just two pages!) of a traditional RPG. It includes two five-minute encounters: run one, it's a nickel. Run them both, it's a dime!
To play, you need two coins of different values. In these rules, the lesser value coin is called a nickel (5¢) and the greater a dime (10¢), but any two values will do.
Nickel & Dime: Caribbean Pirates! is one of a series of different genres. The more well-known a genre, the easier it is for a new player to "get into character." Everyone knows at least something about fictional pirates (at least), and so is a good choice so that non-roleplayers can understand what an RPG is about.